A former U.S. Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison for spying for Israel moved there on Wednesday and was welcomed with a prayer of thanksgiving by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jonathan Pollard, 66, had long voiced a desire to emigrate to Israel, which granted him citizenship. The espionage affair strained U.S.-Israel relations for decades.
A U.S. Justice Department decision last month to let the parole terms’ five-year travel ban go unrenewed was seen by some as a parting gift to Israel by the Trump administration.
Netanyahu met Pollard and his wife Esther as they disembarked in Tel Aviv, video distributed by the Israeli prime minister’s office showed. The couple, both Orthodox Jews, kissed the tarmac.
After saying a Hebrew prayer of thanksgiving for the liberation of prisoners, Netanyahu presented Pollard with an Israeli identity card. “Welcome home,” the prime minister said. “Now you are a citizen of the State of Israel.”
Israel Hayom newspaper, which first reported the couple’s arrival, said they flew in aboard a private plane due to Esther Pollard’s medical condition.
